


Strays

by Kasymy



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2018-12-08 10:52:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11645070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasymy/pseuds/Kasymy
Summary: Two weeks before Dadsona moves into the cul-de-sac, Damien takes in two stray teenagers that are a bit more than they first appear.





	1. New Dimension, New Problems

**Author's Note:**

> This a crossover with Stargate (both SG-1 and SGA) if you have no clue what that means don't worry, it just means aliens exist and Rya’c and the OC (Nina) are aliens, different species but aliens nonetheless. They look MUCH younger than they are, Rya’c being in his 30’s (maybe 40's) and Nina being well over 200 both having the appearance of teenagers and being slightly immature. Anything relating to Stargate I will do my best to explain so you don’t need a lot or any Stargate knowledge to read this. 
> 
> Also, The OC is from one of my stories on a different account, I really just wanted to play around her character in a way that completely unrelated to that story, normally I wouldn’t post these things but I thought ‘what the hell’. Anyway, she will not be involved romantically with any of the dads, that’s just not her. Dadsona will still be present and is probably going to date Damien or at least go on one date with him. 
> 
> So if you’re here for Damien being adorable and awkward aliens, that probably shouldn’t be allowed around humanity without someone to explain strange human things to them, welcome. If not, thanks for stopping by anyway. Also Damien is not in the first chapter he will be in the second though.

 

A Lab in Somewhere in New York

 

     Gun shots echoed in the labs, empty halls, security officers were returning fire, but woefully unprepared for this assault. It seems that whoever had been looking for her had in fact found her, glancing at her friend, Rya’c whose grip tightened on his staff weapon, activating it ready to fire at a moments notice.

     Nina grabbed a few syringes from her desk and a gun she kept in the bottom drawer for situations just like this. Glancing at the door as the shots got closer, she made a few adjustments on a few more exotic experiments of hers that would certainly slow them down as well as engaging the blast doors. She smirked to herself, looking at the chaos that was already taking over the room. She lead Rya’c to the back room, there was only one item in the room and to anyone else it held no meaning but Rya’c and Nina knew far better. It was an oddly shaped full length mirror only it didn’t reflect them or even the same room they were in. Instead, it showed what looked like a bay front with a burrito stand in sight. The bullets had stopped for now, but it wouldn’t be long before they reached this room, Nina grabbed a remote type device and shared a look with Rya’c.

     “You ready?” He laughed a bit both of them flinching hearing the welding equipment be fired up.

     “It might take us years to get back.” Nina said, looking at the mirror, giving a chance to say no even if it pointless now. They had two choices, die or run.

     “We’ll manage. And we left enough for the SGC to figure out where we went. My wife will be sad for a while, but she’ll manage, probably kill me when we get back though. The others will help her and she is a warrior. I will regret missing my first born’s birth, but there will be others to attend and I know when they are grown they will understand. I’m more worried about that father of yours.”

     “I left enough for them to know who’s child I am. Knowing Jack O’Neill he’ll insist on handling it himself. Jack is an honorable man, Father will like him.” Nina replied, taking one last look at the door before touching the mirror in sync with Rya’c.

 

     Suddenly, they were on the other side, a sunny beach with a burrito stand no mirror, no gun fire and no danger… At least none that they could see. Nina quickly pressed various buttons on remote, working to switch whatever the mirror was portraying, trapping them here, but making it so their enemies couldn't follow them. That wasn't the end of their worries unfortunately, there were people strolling around the Bayfront and they stood out in more ways than one.

     “Mall?” Rya’c asked, looking at her outfit. It was fine for a lab, but her face always made people think she was far younger than she truly was making it look rather out of place on her. Rya’c was far more appropiately, dressed, in jeans and a hoodie but they would need a bag to cover his staff, admittedly it didn’t look like a weapon that could punch rather large holes into a human body despite that being what it was.

     “Safe bet, we need to blend in just in case they find this place for the SGC does.”

     “Right…”

     “Remembering the disaster that was the last time we had to go shopping?”

     “Yes.”

     “Well, this time we know what we want and aren’t going to abide by anyone else's standards. We’re not human and this time I won’t pretend to be.” She replied linking her arm with his, heading in some vague direction. Rya’c laughed before stopping her.

     “Let’s get directions first.” Rya’c handed her his staff and jogged over to the burrito stand, exchanging small talk with the man working there, laughing a bit about some mundane thing before jogging back to Nina, waving at the man.

     “Make a new friend?” Nina asked with a raised eyebrow.

     “Yes,” He chuckled, “I believe we can simply run there.”

     “Good, I can run off this excess adrenaline.” She smirked stretching lightly handing Rya’c back his staff.

     “It should only take us fifteen minutes.”

     “Shall we then?”

     “Of course.” Rya’c smirked and took off without her, growling at him she caught up and shoved him, it was rough but not enough to make him fall.

     “Woah!” He exclaimed before regaining his balance and trying to shove her. He failed horribly as she was much faster than him and more agile.

     “Too slow!” She laughed speeding off.

     “Ugh!” Rya’c groan and tried to catch up with her. She giggled uncharacteristically and dodged his attempts to catch her with a practiced ease. Rya’c was huffing and puffing as they reached the mall hunched over using his staff to help him stay upright.  Nina was running literal circles around him before going to get Rya’c some water from a vending machine. He collapsed onto the lawn in front of the mall entrance waiting for her to return.

     “Here, really Rya’c you shouldn’t push yourself this hard, I would have slowed down if I know you were this out of shape.” She mocked a bit without any malice handing him the water bottle.

     “I truly don’t mind, you are faster than me and after everything and with the pregnancy, I suppose Kar’yn is right. I’ve been hovering too much and as a result, I suppose I haven’t been training as often.” Rya’c explained draining the water bottle before standing on shaky legs. Nina nodded in understanding, she may not completely understand, but she did understand the worry her friend had for his wife.

     “Shall we then? I have enough money to cover both of us, though, depending on how long we’re here I should probably invest… While I don’t like business I can certainly make a good deal on stocks if I try. And I am a capable scientist and engineer.”

     “So cost is no object is what you're saying?”

     “I’m saying we have enough money to get anything we should need. Only problem is it’s in cash.”

     “You were carrying a large amount of cash in New York?”

     “Do you doubt my abilities to defend myself?”

     “No, no of course not.” He chuckled as they walked into the mall, scanning for a store that might suit their needs.

     “Oh, I need a leather jacket.” Nina called seeing Dead Goth and Beyond.

     “Well, they seem to sell them, among other things…” Rya’c held up what looked like a chain attached to a wallet.

     “I guess it’s so you don’t lose it?” Nina called looking at a rack of promising leather jackets. None of them were quite the length she preferred but humans didn’t really wear full length leather jackets. Frowning, she analyzed all of them carefully, trying to find the perfect one.

     Rya’c wandered off seeing a display of Star Wars things, he chucked a bit thinking of his father. He found a set of robes, stylized similarly to a dress, it wasn’t quite what he used to - the fabric was much too thin - but he liked it nonetheless. He also picked up a bag bearing the Rebel Alliance’s mark, he wouldn’t be able to put his staff weapon in it, but hopefully it won’t stand out so much with the bag. He turned around to see Nina was trying on a leather jacket that he believed was called a motorcycle jacket.

    “Find something?” He asked, grabbing Nina’s lab coat what was strewn over the clothing rack.

    “It will do. The padding is minimal at best, but it does seem functional, I see you found a set of robes and of course a Star Wars bag.” Nina shrugged out of the leather jacket handing it to Rya’c and grabbing her lab coat.

    “What? I like Star Wars and it’s rare to find anything remotely similar to Jaffa robes.” He pointed out as they wandered over another display.

    “You don’t even wear robes.” Nina reminded him, looking through various tank tops with exaggerated arm holes for some unknown reason.

    “I do when I visit my father.”

    “You rarely wear robes, then.”

    “They’re comfortable in hot weather and I like having them just incase.”

    “I’ll give you that. I’m getting some of these tank tops.” Nina laughed reading a few.

    “I think we should get this one for O’Neill.” Rya’c chuckled, holding up a shirt that said, ‘my death will probably be caused by being sarcastic at the wrong time’.

    “Do you see anything that looks like his size?” Nina asked, picking out three more tank tops and moving over to the dresses frowning. They all had characters on them or just overall were not to her liking.

    “I’ll look.”

    “I’m done here if you are.” Nina called

    “Give me a moment I believe I found the right size.” Rya’c held up the shirt and Nina’s mind took over doing the calculations in her head.

    “It might be a bit short but it looks like it’d fit him.” She took all the items from Rya’c and moved to the pink haired cashier.

    “How did you get your eyebrows to match your hair?” The cashier asked looking at Nina’s head.

    “It’s like that naturally.” She remarked raising an eyebrow.

    “Your hair is naturally lavender?” The cashier asked sarcastically, not believing her one second.

    “It’s a genetic abnormality. My eyes are also natural, its called Heterochromia.” Nina dismisses the rest of the cashiers comments, handing over enough cash to cover their purchases. The cashier bags the items and hands them over with the change.

     “Camping store next?” Rya’c questioned, looking for anything that looked like it would have sturdy boots and a more substantial bag, than the one he just got.

     “Yes, then we need something to cover up our tattoos with.” Nina added, Rya’c nodded as they walked around looking for either store they needed. Nina hadn’t been paying much attention to where she was going more focused on scanning for either a make-up store or a camping store. She really shouldn’t have been as surprised as she was when she walking directly into a teenager knocking him down.

     “Huh? Oh, sorry.” She muttered, stepping around the seething teen.

     “What the hell! Watch where you’re going!” He yelled spinning around to yell at Nina clearly ready for a fight. Nina eyed him up and down, he had silver hair, heavily lined eyes and more piercings than she really cared to count.

     “Look, I’m in a bit of a hurry and if you don’t want me to inject whatever chemical substance this happens to be into you, just walk away.” Nina glowered at him flashing a syringe full of a mysterious dark liquid.

     “You’re selling drugs?” He asked almost a little intrigued.

     “No, they aren’t drugs, they are volatile chemical experiments, and I'm not selling. I haven’t tested them on humans yet, but I’m open to it.” She grinned, showing off some of her sharper teeth making her look rather predatory. Rya’c just stood back and watched the exchange. The teenager recoiled muttering to himself before leaving them in peace.

     “If you didn’t scare him so badly we could have asked him for directions.” Rya’c remarked.

    “I suppose, he looked like he’d know where we could find make-up, but there’s no point in it now. We’ll find our way around regardless.” Nina just kept walking confidently, they’d find the store eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quickly, some of the Stargate things that I mentioned in this chapter. I'm trying to keep this simple and a lot of this I believe is more if you were curious, I will explain the majority of these in greater detail as they come up in the story because at one point they will come up.
> 
> The mirror - It's called a Quantum Mirror and it is used to travel through dimensions. So the Stargate stuff is in a completely different dimension, hence why it's not super important.
> 
> Staff weapons - carried by Jaffa, which is what Rya'c is, and fires off an energy blast that is incredibly deadly if you're hit anywhere vital.
> 
> Rya'c - He's a Jaffa, he has a baby snake like thing, that functions as his immune system, it's called a symbiote, it lives in a pouch in his abdomen. It also allows for him to have accelerated healing as long as he's not injured near his abdomen. Essentially, he's superhuman, think like Captain America, can't get sick, heals quickly and has high tolerance for medications and pain. He has a wife, her name is Kay'rn. They got married in the Stargate SG-1 series, she is not an OC in case you were wondering. Their child would be though, since they never had a kid in the series or it was never mentioned as Rya'c in literally in 4 or 5 episodes. His father also loves Star Wars and has seen it upwards of 9 times. Rya'c also has a tattoo on his forehead that he covers using make-up or a hat.
> 
> Jaffa - Jaffa's are a warrior race that were enslaved, but have since fought a rebellion against their oppressors and won (Nina helped).
> 
> SGC - Stargate Command, a military organization that handles travels to other planets through the use of a device known as a Stargate. SG-1 is the original team that would handle missions, the original members were Jack O'Neill, Sam (Samantha) Carter, Teal'c (Rya'c's Father) and Dr. Daniel Jackson (Not a medical doctor). They have since gone their separate ways.


	2. Strays of all kinds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damien is looking for Duchess Cordiella who escaped again, as the sun is setting and he runs into two teenagers he's never seen before who agree to help him look for the dog. Mary is protective and should never be underestimated where Damien is concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is after Rya'c and Nina's shopping trip.

Strays of all Kinds

 

     Damien's heart was racing in his chest.

     "Duchess!" He called into an alleyway near the Coffee Spoon. She was nowhere to be found. He'd tried the softball field, the aquarium, woods twice mind you and even the cul-de-sac. The sun was setting and the temperature was already beginning to drop. He didn't want to call Mary just yet, but it wouldn't be long before he'd need a flashlight to continue his search. Maybe he should call her, she has a car and the shelter would be closing soon. Frowning, he looked around some more hoping she'd just appear out of nowhere completely fine waging tail and all.

     "Duchess! Duchess Cordelia!" He called again, his voice cracking a bit. There was the sound of someone or something walking toward him, quickly he turned around leash in hand hoping it was her.

     "Is there a reason why you're yelling?" A grumpy voice came from the shadows, Damien clenched the leash tighter hoping it wasn't anything scary. He didn't think he could handle that right now.

     "Really, Nina, I think you're scaring him." A deeper voice remarked and two figures stepped into the light, they looked like teenagers, close to his son's age. Nina he presumed had lavender hair and eyes that appeared to be both blue and orange. Her arms were crossed and she was glaring at him for some reason. Her companion seemed to be in better spirits, but had a bag that looked eerily like a body bag strapped to him.

     "I'm not apologizing Rya'c he's the one going about screaming into alleyways." She replied and Damien noticed that her skin almost looked translucent, as if she hadn't the sun in years. Though her hair seemed in good condition and the whites of her eyes were in white so she clearly wasn't suffering from a vitamin D, deficiency.

     "I wasn't saying you should, only try not to give him a heart attack, it seems like he's lost a dog." Her companion, then turned to him with a friendly smile, "I'm Rya'c, and this is Nina, did you lose a dog?"

     "Not exactly. I'm Damien Bloodmarch and I work at the animal shelter. Duchess Cordiela, a mastiff from the shelter has escaped again. She learned how to open doors and well, she's been escaping ever since."

    "Change the locks, then." Nina remarked and it was like a slap in the face, they hadn't thought of that.

     "We'll have to do that and it was nice to meet both of you." Damien replied, turning to leave the alleyway, only they followed him.

     "What does the dog look like, other than being huge." Nina questioned catching Damien off guard, she didn't strike him as the type of person to help. Then again, most people wouldn't expect him to be who he is.

     "She's a large brown dog with floppy ears and short hair."

     "We will help you search for her, I can already feel the temperature dropping and I don't believe short haired dog breeds are meant for these temperatures." Nina looked to Rya'c who nodded.

     "Where have you checked already?"

     "Everywhere." Damien responded, thankful to have some help even if it was from these two he'd never seen before.

     "I see, Rya'c you stick with Damien I'm going to try and find the dog in the woods. We both know I'm faster alone." She shrugged out of a... Lab coat? And handed Rya'c her shoes before taking off at an unbelievable speed.

     "Did she just run off into the woods with no shoes on?" Damien turned to see Rya'c putting her stuff in the bag he had been carrying.

     "Hm? Yes, she did. Don't worry too much about her, Nina is very capable of taking care of herself. So where does that leave us, I can't say I know much about dogs."

     "Doesn't she need a flashlight?"

     "No, she'll be alright. I wouldn't be surprised if she had night vision." He laughed pleasantly, and Damien couldn't help but want to ask about if they needed to be getting home soon. Not that Lucien really had a curfew but plenty of people did. He figured he would ask about that once they found Duchess.

     "If you say so, I suppose we could check the Bayfront, I haven't been there in sometime. It's possible that she's there now."

     "I can run there unless you have a car?"

     "No, not at the moment and if you run as fast as Nina I don't think I can keep up." Damien said, remembering how fast she took off, only Rya'c laughed in response.

     "No one can run as fast as Nina. I barely manage to keep up and she still runs circles around me. I remember seeing some trash torn up a while back so we can start there and call her as we approach the Bayfront how about that?" Rya'c suggested looking to Damien.

     "Sounds good. I just hope we find her."

     "I wouldn't worry, if you checked everywhere else and we don't find her, that means she's probably in the woods, meaning we just have to wait for Nina to find her. And despite her admittedly hostile nature, she does like dogs and is an excellent tracker."

    "I should call my friend who is at the shelter, here can you hold this?" Damien handed Rya'c the leash and pulled his phone out to call Mary.

    _"Hello Dames?"_

    "Mary, I still can't find The Duchess but two kids, Rya'c and Nina are helping me out. They seem pretty confident that we can find her."

     _"Hm... I've never heard of them and I know all the gossip. Are you sure you're alright Dames? I can go and get my car."_ She clearly didn't trust whoever these two were but aside from the mild fright they gave him, they seemed like good kids.

    "It's fine, but if you could meet us as the Bayfront, Nina went to check the forest so Rya'c and I are headed to the Bayfront now."

     _"Of course, anything for my special boy. See you soon."_ Mary hung up and Damien took the leash back from Rya'c, they were already at the outskirts of the bay front where the docks were.

    "Duchess!" Rya'c called, clicking his tounge, hoping it would help convince the dog to come out if she was nearby. Damien was looking around the trash cans and tables, knowing that if there was food, Duchess tended to be there. 

     "Duchess Cordelia!" Damien called before getting caught in headlights, it took him a second to recognize that it was Mary's car. Rya'c had also appeared by his side in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

     "Damien." Mary greeted, eyeing Rya'c.

     "Mary, this is Rya'c one of the two youths helping me search." He introduced and Rya'c nodded and waved.

     "Pleasure to meet you, I don't think the dog is here, sadly, but Nina should find her soon."

     "I don't think I've seen you before, it's getting rather late won't her parents worry? Or yours, for that matter?" Mary asked with mock concern, not that anyone other than Damien could tell that.

     "I wouldn't worry about it." Rya'c tried to shut the conversation down, but Damien knew how Mary was. It wouldn't stop her, not where he was concerned.

     "Oh, but I do worry, I could call them so they know you were helping us and I'm sure they'd love to know what wonderful children they raised." Mary persisted and Rya'c began to look more and more uncomfortable.

    "I don't think that would be possible since my parents didn't really raise me. I mean my mother did her best, but it was really my martial arts teacher that raised me. And Nina's parent isn't exactly around at the moment. She's very independent and intelligent, so while we appreciate your concern I can assure you there is nothing to worry about." Rya'c did his best to stick as close to the truth as possible, his father left when he was a child and his mother loved him dearly but she was trying to keep them alive and Bra'tac was really the only who was there for him on any consistent basis. He taught him how to fight and when he announced he was to marry Kay'rn, Bra'tac on was on his side regardless of his father's disapproval. 

     "No parents around I would say that is something to worry about." Mary raised an eyebrow spotting the lie with ease.

     "It really isn't." Rya'c defended hoping by some miracle that Mary would let it drop.

     "So where do you two live then." Mary continued and Rya'c realized he was caught. There was nothing he could say that would sound remotely alright.

     "We're just passing through for the moment." Rya'c lied again, wishing Nina was here. Her slight telepathic abilities would be appreciated.

     "So homeless then." Mary pushed and Rya'c could feel himself start to sweat.

     "I wouldn't say that simply temporarily without shelter. I'm sure we'll find a nice hotel to stay in for the time being." Rya'c tried and it seemed neither Mary or Damien was having it.

     "Oh dear, we should really get in touch with your parents. How are you two attending school?" Damien asked, joining Mary in this makeshift interrogation.

    "Well Nina has a Ph.d or two and I'm well... Not academically inclined?"

    "I don't believe that for one second. Young man, where are your parents?" Mary demanded.

     "They might as well be on another planet." Rya'c muttered not sure what else to say it felt like it had been hours since Nina left and he was running short on excuses. Something must have struck Damien since he seemed to signal for Mary to stop.

     "Did they kick you out?" Damien asked gently, almost trying to comfort. Rya'c was confused with this new shift in questioning, but he quickly thought through his answer, technically his wife did kick him out but that was because he hovering around her too much. Though it did lead to this. Nina just sort of ended up on Earth but being kicked out seemed to be the easiest way to resolve this.

     "Not in so many words." Rya'c replied and Mary's demeanor softened a bit. Both adults relaxing as if everything made sense, "It doesn't matter Nina and I will be fine."

     "You don't have any place to stay, what are you going to stay on a park bench?" Mary asked and Rya'c had to admit that they hadn't thought about it. It's not like they were strangers to sleeping in the woods. The woods would be a better choice.

      "We'll manage if we can't find a hotel we'll stay in the woods."

     "Rya'c!" Nina appeared out of nowhere, finally, a giant dog happily running beside her blood on the muzzle and on Nina's hands. He couldn't believe her. Mary and Damien both starred wide-eyed at the young woman and Duchess.

     "Nina! What happened in the woods." Rya'c yelled at her.

     "She was hungry, so I killed few birds, we got a bit messy, but look how happy she is." Nina beamed at him like there was nothing wrong with walking around covered in blood.

     "Dogs can choke on the bones what were you thinking! You don't even like meat!"

     "Cooked bones. Dogs can eat raw bones, it's cooked bones they can't eat and I didn't say I ate any besides, it's not the concept that bothers me, I just can't digest meat because I lack the enzymes to digest it properly." She shrugged and despite understanding her logic, he couldn't help but feel that everything just got more complicated and any rapture he had built with Damien and Mary just flew out the window. Damien looked a little green and Mary was clearly taking charge trying to leash the dog who growled upon seeing the leash.

      "Come one be a good dog." Mary tried to lasso Duchess but failed when Nina grabbed her wrist.

      "She doesn't like leashes." Nina practically growled herself, which seemed to appease Duchess who sticking like glue to Nina.

      "I see." Mary's eyes narrowed and Nina held her ground but released her wrist.

      "You both need to clean up first anyway." Rya'c voiced trying to defuse the situation before it escalated further.

      "We have baths at the shelter. They are meant for dogs, but I suppose we can make an exception. Neither of you getting in my car you have to walk back to the shelter." Mary told her coldly.

     "That suits me just fine." Nina replied, heading off to the shelter with Duchess trailing behind her. Rya'c didn't know what happed in the forest, but it seemed Duchess viewed Nina as her alpha.

      "Interesting friend you have." Mary gestured for Rya'c to get in the back seat.

      "She doesn't like people very much. Very few people have given her a reason to." Rya'c explained, hoping they didn't hold it against her. Damien just looked at his feet deep in thought over everything Rya'c had said. Nina was terrifying and it seemed like most of the time she didn't mean to, it was just a way to distance people from her. It broke his heart and he couldn't help but wonder why these two were on their own.

      Mary already knew what Damien was going to do and couldn't help but worry about him. That Nina girl wasn't normal or safe, she knew that look and no matter what Rya'c tried to explain she doubted she'd ever trust her. Not where Damien was concerned. They girl cared for Rya'c, though, and that just might have to be enough. Mary watched Rya'c through the rear view mirror, he was nice, polite and had something he was running from, she could see why Damien had gotten attached so quickly.

    "I'd have to check with my son first, but how would you two feel about staying with me for the time being." Damien asked softly almost scared.

    "I don't know. It's nothing against you, but Nina tends to get on people's nerves and I really don't want to bother you with our problems. It's nothing we can't handle." 

    "I'll text my son and see what he says. He's a bit of a rebel, him and Nina might get along or at least I don't think she'd bother him." Damien replied not quite disregarding what Rya'c just said.

    "If you are sure." Rya'c replied, seeing no way to avoid this, "But if it is ever too much or if Nina bothers you we can leave. We will be fine on our own."

     Damien thought about it for a minute after sending a text to Lucien. Nina seemed... Troubled more than anything else, perhaps Lucien might talk to her and vice versa, it might do them both some good or not. At least he hoped they would get along. Rya'c also seemed like a good person, and a good balance to Nina. Damien caught Mary's look and he sighed under his breath, this might be his problem taking in strays that is. At least Lucien wasn't allergic to people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No big Stargate references here other than Rya'c complicated childhood short version is, his father wasn't there for most of it and his mother had to marry this other guy so they didn't starve to death and that left Rya'c sort of in the wind (he got brainwashed and kidnapped twice, I think), but then he stayed with his father's mentor/best friend Bra'tac who trained him how to fight and supported his decision to marry at a young age even if Teal'c (Rya'c father) did not.
> 
> Also Damien! Not sure if I did his character justice, but I tried. I also feel like if Lucien wasn't allergic to dogs they'd have three and probably foster two more. And I'll admit Mary was fun to write as well again, I just hope she wasn't completely ooc.


	3. Goth Dad

 

 

      Nina smiled at the dog next to her waiting for the other to show up and unlock the door.She supposed she could pick it, but that was too much work for the moment. Cordelia nudged her hand with a nose sniffing the now dried blood on her hands, before lapping at them.

 

    “I don’t know why he freaked out like that. Rya’c has seen me covered in blood before. Perhaps, it was the humans, we should be focusing on blending in and I suppose I did mess that up. Humans.” Nina grumbled, turning her hand over for Cordelia, “I forgot myself, humans don’t like blood and most aren’t used to seeing it least of all, all over another being.”

 

     “Borf!” Cordelia added requesting the other hand, which Nina presented to her. It wasn’t much longer before a car pulled up in front of her, headlights blinding her. Regardless, she moved to let them unlock the door and moved tot stand next to Rya’c. Something happened, she didn’t need to be a telepath to figure that out.

 

     “What happened.”

 

     “Damien has offered to house us for the time being. His son doesn’t seem to care either, also we have to go school.” Rya’c informed her quickly, Nina frowned tensing a bit this threw a wrench in her plans. They weren’t very good or developed plans, but a parental figure watching their moves was not what they needed right now.

 

     “What happened when I was gone.” She growled out, annoyed.

 

     “Mary.”

 

     “I see.”

 

     “Get in here! You have to clean up as well!” Mary yelled, making Nina growl.

 

     “We should head in, and I think Damien is a bit odd, but I think he means well. Mary seems protective of him for some reason, though, she doesn’t trust you. Anyway, I ran out of excuses and the only out I saw was to say we were kicked out.” Rya’c explained, pulling her boots out of his bag, handing them to her with a new top since hers was blood stained.

 

     “Ah, yes the baths are this way you can take the one furthest in the back to wash up, the Duchess Cordelia and I will be here at this one.” Damien informed her, “I’m not sure if Rya’c told you but if you like -“

 

     “He told me.” Nina interrupted, but she stopped reconsidering her words, “As long as it isn’t a problem we will stay with you and your son.”

 

     It seemed to be the right move since his entire demeanor changed, he brightened considerably and Rya’c stepped in to help him bath Duchess. Nina walked to the back, leaving them alone.

 

     “I’m sure it will work out for the best. I have a few guest rooms you two can choose from. I do not know if you two would like to share a room or not, but we can work something out.” Damien told Rya’c and they soaped up Duchess.

 

     “Thank you.” Rya’c said simply and Damien just nodded, not sure if there was anything he could say. He just hopped these kids would be happy staying with him. If nothing else, they had a safe place to stay.

 

     “Damien, I called Hugo.” Mary announced entering the room.

 

     “What did he say?”

 

     “The two of them need to take a placement test.”

 

     “Nina has two Ph.d s does she really need to attend school?” Rya’c asked, breaking into a cold sweat, Nina and schools don’t mix. Or rather Nina and students don’t mix.

 

     “Ph.d’s in what Mary asked very skeptical, eyebrow raised clearly uninterested.

 

     “I have Ph.d’s in Astrophysics and genetics. Then various degrees in other fields, such as astro-engineering, biochemistry and biomedical engineering. There’s a lot of overlap.”

 

     “Right and you got those when and how?”

 

     “I’m a genius Mary, I tested out of most of my classes and considering the equipment I had access to it wasn’t hard to write a dissertation or two on growing organic tech from single cells. Do you require more proof? Perhaps we could get into nuclear or theoretical physics, which I’m also versed in.” Nina rattled off drying her lavender hair looking at Mary. Rya’c knew that look, he’d seen it many times, she was sizing up her opponent. Damien was slightly tense, but Nina, like Rya’c said could handle herself.

 

     “It doesn’t matter you still have to attend school, you can either enroll in high school or college.” Mary was firm and Rya’c vaguely remembered some strange law like that. Nina looked impressed, she knew it wasn’t an argument she win from the start, but Mary was certainly an entertaining opponent.

 

     “Fine. I will enroll with Rya’c in high school.” Nina replied uninterested but her eyes tracked Mary for a bit longer, “Do you perhaps play chess?”

 

     “What?” Mary paused, startled at the change in topic.

 

     “You’d be good at it. Poker too, probably.” Nina added, throwing the towel she used into the large laundry bin. She moved to perch on a table and began braiding her hair. Mary ignored her and left the room, seeing the Duchess preparing to shake.

 

     “Ah!” Damien exclaimed, Nina just, laughed, looking at their now soaked clothes.

 

     “You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you.” Rya’c asked shooting her a glare.

 

     “That’s why I’m over here. Probably why Mary left as well.” Nina laughed again going back to braiding her hair.

 

     “Can you hand us another towel?” Damien asked, and Nina tossed them both a few towels, “Thank you.”

 

     They dried Duchess Cordelia, who still wanted to stick by Nina’s side, off.

 

     “Seems like you made a friend.” Damien smiled at them.

 

     “So it seems.” Nina knelt down to Duchess Cordelia’s level and placed their foreheads together. No one really moved just watching Nina in her element, Rya’c smiled, watching his friend share a conversation with this dog. Nonverbal communication was her specialty after all. It was a long moment before Nina rose to her feet leading Duchess to her kennel through a set of double doors. Duchess settled in her kennel looking longingly up at Nina. She rested her hand on Duchess Cordelia’s head, sending a wave of exhaustion towards her. Duchess let the suggestion take hold and quickly fell asleep.

 

     “She seems to like you and we could always use more people helping out around here if you want to play with her more.” Damien smiled at her and Nina just shook her head reaching for Rya’c’s arm.

 

     “Put child locks on the doors or change the handles out making them lock from the outside. That’s the only way to stop her from getting out.” Nina told him before, moving to grab a push broom, and chair and a small crate dragging Rya’c with her.

 

     “What is she doing?” Mary asked upon seeing Nina with the miscellaneous supplies.

 

     “I have no idea.” Damien watched as they worked in sync and managed to bar the double doors closed.

 

     “It can only be opened from this side now. It’s not exactly in line with the fire code, but it will do.” Nina explained admiring her handy work.

 

     “How?” Mary asked, stunned

 

     “I told you I’m a genius. This, was easy, just jam the hinges on one side to stop it from being opened from the other side. So even if she gets out of her kennel she can’t get past this point.” Nina explained to the two stunned adults.

 

    It was such a simple answer. Both Damien and Mary were shocked, how had they not thought of that.

 

    “Thank you. I should get changed then we can go. Oh, my son and I are both vegetarian. I don’t know if you either of you have any special dietary restrictions.”

 

     “I can’t eat meat or dairy products. I lack the enzymes to process them properly.” Nina told Damien.

 

      “I don’t mind not eating meat.” Rya’c added, Damien nodded, leaving to go and get changed.

 

     “Children. I think we need to have a talk.” Mary called arms crossed, scrutinizing them.

 

     “Yes?” Nina prompted, watching Mary carefully.

 

     “If you in any way hurt Damien, mentally, physically, anyway. Well fill in the blanks.” Her eyes darkened as she glared them down. Nina didn’t flinch or let go of Rya’c.

 

     “I like you.” Nina declared taking Mary off guard,” You’re protective of those that matter to you and wouldn’t hesitate to kill for them. I can understand that. I can respect that.”

 

     Mary didn’t know how to react to that, thankfully she didn’t have to as Damien walked back into the room dressed in his standard Goth attire.

 

     “Well, shall we depart?” He asked with a small smile, watching their reactions carefully.

 

     “Sure, nice cloak.” Nina commented not really sure what else to say. It wasn’t even close being the strangest thing she’d ever seen, it was just surprising.

 

     “Ah! Thank you, everyone always assumes it’s a cape when in fact it’s a Victorian styled cloak the height of fashion at the time.” Damien rambled and Nina felt her eyes go wide, this however was something she’d never experienced before. He just kept talking about Victorian fashion.

 

     “Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?” Nina whispered to Rya’c.

 

     “Not in the slightest.”He responded and they continued to follow Damien, who was still talking animatedly about… Arsenic?

 

     “I don’t want to interrupt him.”

 

    “Me neither.” Nina and Rya’c listened to Damien continue on though it made little sense to them.

 

    “We are here, hope you will find your stay enjoyable.” He presented his home to the two who took it in with wide eyes. It was impressive to say the least. Just not at all what they were used to.

 

    “Interesting architecture choices.” Nina ended up commented, she didn’t know much about architecture or at least not your standard architecture, but she believed it was called gothic.

 

    “Thank you I modeled it after Victorian architecture. Please do come in I expect that my son, Lucien, should be home.” Damien escorted them into the house looking for signs of his son.

 

    “Dad,” A familiar teenager greeted them, “Wait you!”

 

     “And you.” Nina shot back not really interested in this discussion.

 

    “You have meet?” Damien asked, his voice picking up a bit.

 

    “Earlier today she knocked me over in mall and then had these weird syringes with drugs.”

 

    “They are volatile chemical experiments, not drugs. I believe I said that last time.”

 

     “You did.” Rya’c confirmed.

 

     “Oh, I see.” Damien’s face fell,

 

     “Chill Dad, they can stay I’m not going to make a huge deal about it. As long as they don’t.” Lucien shrugged. Nina and Rya’c were a bit surprised, she had threatened to use him as a guinea pig.

 

     “We won’t.” Ryac assured them both as they all moved into the kitchen.

 

     “Is that a tattoo!” Lucien exclaimed, looking closer at Nina’s shoulder. She flinched a bit before looking at her shoulder.

 

     “Yes, I have quite a few.” Nina informed him with a shrug. She cared really care if people saw them it was just the questions that followed. Everyone wanted to know what they meant, why she has so many, how she got them, why she was so ‘young’ when she got them.

 

     “Where’d you get them done?” Lucien asked, and Nina stopped herself from growling.

 

     “They were done a long time ago, by a scientist that worked with my father and his second in command. My father’s second in command that is not the scientist’s.”

 

     “Wait, how long ago.” Lucien asked, wondering how in the hell a child got not one but several tattoos.

 

      “I don’t know, a few years ago.” Nina shrugged, trying to let the topic drop, but it only seemed to make him all that more desperate for answers.

 

      “Were you a little kid?”

 

     “No. I was old enough to know what I wanted and why. Yes, they mean something, but that’s none of your business. I waited longer than most to get them done because I didn’t want them to distort if I went through a growth spurt.” Nina bit out a bit too harshly, tiring of this line of questioning.

 

     “Did they hurt?” Lucien wouldn’t let the topic drop, but at least he had moved away from the more annoying questions.

 

     “Not as much as I expected them to. The ones near my spine were probably the worst.” Nina offered, taking a seat in the dining room next to the kitchen so they weren’t crowding the kitchen anymore.

 

     “Really? I thought it would be the ones on you collarbones would have been.” Rya’c said, surprised thinking of the tattoos he knew of.

 

      “Those were in the first hour and aren’t as complex as the ones near my spine. Then again we did those last as well, so it was trying.”

 

      “How many do you have?”

 

     “Quite a few, if you happen to have a piece of paper I can sketch them out for you.” Nina offered easily leaning into Rya’c.

 

     “Couldn’t you just show me?” Lucien asked curiously.

 

     “I could, but this is easier.” She explained, Lucien left to grab some stationary from the next room and a pen.

 

     “Here, it’s my dad stationary, but he doesn’t really care who uses it as long as you know it’s Victorian age,  and historically accurate or whatever.”

 

      “Yes, that… what does that mean?” Nina asked, hoping to get some insight on half the things Damien rattled off earlier.

 

      “Victorian age? It’s just the time that Queen Victoria ruled over England.”

 

     “Right.” Nina nodded, trying to place the names as she sketched, “Who? And Where?”

 

     “Seriously? You don’t know?”

 

     “No, history and geography are not my strong suits. Advanced mathematics, and quantum theory on the other hand.” Nina shrugged, filling in the symbols.

 

     “I remember more than she does just not necessarily when that was.” Rya’c added.

 

     “Roughly 1837-1901, I have book on the basics if you need it.”

 

      “We’ll probably need it. If the walk over here was any indication.” Rya’c confirmed looking at Nina’s almost finished sketch. It was rare that he saw her write in any language other than English, even if it was almost calligraphy version.

 

     “Here, I’ve labelled where they are as well.” Nina handed Lucien the paper.

 

     “Woah, they look almost like a snake.” Lucien looked at the symbols it seemed like they wound from her neck to her shoulders down her back and stopped on her thighs. “Wait, you have one on your face?”

 

     “A snake, never quite thought of it like that, and it’s under some concealer at the moment but yes.”

 

      “If I had cool tattoos like this I don’t think I’d keep the covered.”

 

      “Sometimes keeping them covered is the only way to stave off questions you’d rather not answer.” Rya’c commented, and Nina nodded her agreement.

 

      “You have tattoos too?”

 

      “One.” Rya’c didn’t elaborate and Lucien seemed to read that it would be better not to ask.

 

       “I do believe, I have made something that will suit everyone’s tastes.”Damien entered the dining room holding a silver platter and a… cauldron? Rya’c and Nina exchange looks once again, but decided follow Lucien’s lead.

 

       It went well, overall and Nina had to say she was impressed. Normally, she just ate her weight in fruits and vegetables, but Damien had pulled this off perfectly and she didn’t feel the slightest bit ill. She hadn’t expected it to be honest. Afterwards, when Damien was putting the dishes away, Nina approached him on her own.

 

      “Thank you, not only for allowing us to stay here, but taking my restrictions into consideration.” Nina bowed her head to him slightly, “I honestly thought I’d get sick but I underestimated you. Your level of compassion isn’t something I am used to. So thank you.”

 

     “You are welcome, is it alright if I hug you?” He asked, wanting to comfort Nina but not knowing if that would be unwelcome.

 

     “I’ll allow it.” She stiffened slightly, but allowed Damien to hug her.

 

      “You are safe here. I will never intentionally give you something that would make you ill.” He reassured letting her go after a while.

 

      “I believe you.” Nina nodded, turning to leave practically melting into the shadows. Leaving, Damien in the kitchen to contemplate how he suddenly ended up with two more teenagers under his roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being twice as long as I wanted it and probably a little repetitive. Don't know how I feel about it, but I'm enjoying writing this. I hope it's getting better bit by bit.
> 
> On an unrelated side note, I just watched the cult ending. Not sure if I'm going to have that in here or not. Though it would be interesting since Nina is telepathic and Cult Joseph is telepathic. Regardless, that's all for this chapter.


	4. Next Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rya'c and Nina fight a lot. It's just a friendly spar but it freaks Damien out since they aren't exactly gentle with each other. And confused aliens don't understand human things.

     Damien woke up a little earlier than was normal. He wanted to check that Nina would have something to eat for breakfast. Dinner last night, went a lot better than he expected and Lucien seemed to warm up to them, which was saying something. Then again, he did keep getting into fights with Ernest and they seemed to be friends, maybe it wasn’t so spectacular after all. Shaking those thoughts away, he got dressed, in his work clothes before heading downstairs. Lucien was up as well looking out one of the windows.

     “Good Morning Lucien.” Damien greeted, smiling at his son who, upon closer inspection looked only half awake.

     “Hey, where did you say you found those two again?” Lucien called from the window, not even turning around.

     “In an alley behind the Coffee Spoon while searching for the Duchess Cordelia.” Damien replied, looking through the cabinets in the kitchen.

     “Right, they’re fighting in the backyard.” Lucien informed him, making Damien freeze.

     “I am sorry, I believe I misunderstood. Whatever do you mean they are fighting in the backyard?”

     “What I said, Nina just sent Rya’c flying. They’re good, really good, I thought they’d hit the flowers, but they aren’t even close.”

      Damien joined, Lucien at the window watching the two exchange blows. He felt his eyes widen, they were fighting and there was a signifcant amount force behind those punches. However, Lucien was also right, they were very aware of their surroundings and not even once did they stray into the flowers. Still their knuckles were covered in blood, Rya’c face was already swelling and Nina had scrapes on her shoulders as well as her legs.

     “How long have they been fighting?” Damien eyes were fixed on the fight, the two of them hurting each other further.

     “An hour or so. There were a few close calls, but Nina seems to be holding back. I thought Rya’c was going to win, but every time she broke his holds.” Lucien remarked.

     “An hour.” Damien’s heart was pounding, they were getting rougher with each other, falling onto the ground gracelessly.

     "Dad, it’s not a big deal, they clearly know what they're doing.” Lucien gestured to them, as Nina was able to get upright again Rya’c doing the same only a moment too late as Nina brought him back down to his knees swiftly. He struggled, but eventually gave in. Something made them laugh as she helped him up.

     “At least it does not seem to be a serious fight.”

     “I think they were just practicing or something.”

     “Practicing? Lucien they are bloody.”

     “And laughing, didn’t they have street brawls in the Victorian age?” Lucien shrugged, and they moved away from the window as Nina and Rya’c were making their way back.

     “Well, yes.” He considered it for some time, unsure how he felt about it all. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sounds of the back door opening.

     “Morning,” Rya’c greeted and Nina made some sort of noise, that seemed to be a greeting.

     “That was impressive.” Lucien told them, they just shrugged and moved to the kitchen to wash the blood off their hands and attended to their injuries.

     “Are you two in good health?” Damien asked, trying to catalog all of their injuries.

     “Yes, we are alright.”

    “It was just a friendly morning spar, sorry if you alarmed you, but we typically spar two to three times a day.” Rya’c added as they began checking each other’s injuries.

    “It’s not broken, that’s good I really thought I hit you harder.”Nina remarked, cleaning the blood off of his face.

    “Do you two require bandages or the emergency kit?” Damien inquired, watching what seemed to a ritual for them.

    “No, we have plenty and it certainly feels broken.”

    "Think of it as revenge for that throw that scraped up my ribs.”

    “Speaking of, do you need me look at those.”

     “Sure, it’s just a scrape and I probably bruised my ribs a little.” Easily she pulled her tank top off making Lucien and Damien stare at her. Nina ignored them moving to show Rya’c her scrape, it was raw and stilling bleeding a bit, but overall it was clean and looked good..

    “Are you using bandages to bind your chest?” Damien asked abruptly, startling both Nina and Rya’c.

    “Yes?” Nina looked lost, “If this is about my not wearing a bra, I find them uncomfortable. I’ve always used bandages or worn clothing that doesn’t require a bra. If this is about me taking my tank top off, I’m sorry? I mean we could move into the bathroom, but we thought that it would be best to not get any blood on the rugs or furniture.”

     “You should not use bandages to wrap your chest. It can cause a lot medical damage and complications. That is not even considering your level of physical activity and the damage you cause by having both your chest bound with bandages and sparring. Your ribs can because bruised or fractured quite easily and even more so by fighting. Not to mention the risk of scoliosis, muscle damage, rib cage warping and breathing problems.” Damien informed her, desperate to get this through to her, “If you do not like bras there are several other things you can get that do the same thing as those bandages. If you are open to it, I can help you get something much better for your health, however, I must insist that you not use bandages to bind your chest anymore.”

     Nina really didn’t understand what the hell Damien was saying. She had used bandages for a very long time and her bones were not as susceptible to breaking as humans. She glanced at Rya’c who had the same clueless look as her. She looked to Lucien for any sense of what was happening, but he just nodded in agreement with his father leaving the two aliens baffled.

     “Okay? Can we start that over, I understood about none of that. Also, I’m not sure what the exact problem is, is it the bandages or how tight you think they are?” Nina questioned trying to start somewhere in the middle.

     “Both.” Lucien answered, thinking it was more about how his father worded this than what he was saying, “Bandages, constrict and cause medical problems, I mean, how tight they are is part of it but you really shouldn’t use bandages.”

     “Okay, that helped, still fairly confused. Let's try one more time, so the problem is the bandages, because they can cause problems.” Nina started slowly watching everyone's reactions to try and gauge if she had understood properly.

     “Yes, they compress your chest and put a lot of pressure on your ribcage, that can cause an abundance of medical problems.” Damien re-iterated.

      “I see,” Nina paused, thinking about everything. Her bones don’t break, not easily anyway and she still doubted that _this_ applied to her. Still with how firm they were being on the subject it seemed she had no real choice, “Alright, I will look into the other options, but if I find something I like I can and will pay for it, I assure you. Now Rya’c and I need to get cleaned up.”

      “As long as you understand that you cannot continue to use bandages as a bra.”

      “I understand.” Nina assured them and practically dragged Rya’c out of the room.

      “I don’t think she really got it.” Lucien commented watching them leave.

       “Neither do I.” Damien said, trying to think of some way to explain it, that she might grasp. Nina was supposed to be a genius, it didn’t make sense that she didn’t already know this. Then again, perhaps no one had told her, she mentioned science and mathematics and all most of the work she did seem to be on the mirco-level or dealing with machinery. Yesterday, Rya'c had mentioned that Nina only had one parent, perhaps they had never bothered to teach her about bras or safety in general regarding her chest.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually like this chapter, and am rather pleased with how it turned out. While I'm thinking about it, Nina really just hates bras and bras don't exist where she's from and she hates how much her boobs move when she spars or runs. Also in Stargate, I do believe they show more warrior type women with bandages around their chests so this isn't uncommon. Anyway, Nina prefers her bandages and because she's not human she doesn't really have complications from it also they are just cloth, not ace bandages. If you're human which I'm assuming anyone reading this is, don't use bandages as a bra or to bind, it's dangerous as Damien told us.
> 
> Also, this is something Nina has done for over a hundred years, she doesn't see a problem with it so convincing her to change isn't easy. And to be fair, I have used ace bandages as a bra, I was on vacation (I think I was around 14) and forgot to pack a bra, but for some reason had an emergency kit with ace bandages in it. It wasn't until recently I learned that, that's not something you should do. There are ways to do it so it minimizes the risk and I did do that, but unless you need bandages for a medical problem in that area, it's not safe to use on a daily basis.


	5. Standardized Tests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina and Rya'c take a standardized placement test, and then proceed to work on attaining financial security. (I promise it's not as boring as it sounds) Also, anything in Italics is said using telepath.

     After everything that morning, Nina and Rya’c headed into school with a reluctant Lucien leading them to where they would be taking their placement tests. Nina had her arm linked through Rya’c’s which was normal for them, but it definitely didn’t help the stares. It wasn’t that they weren’t used to them more it was the annoyance of whispers that people thought they couldn’t hear. Their ears, were sharper than a normal human's and while the whispers tended to be more curious in nature, there were ones that were far meaner or had underlying threats putting both of them on edge.

    “Wait here, Mr. Vega will take you to your test, this is his classroom. He’s not here yet. I’m going to go.” Lucien left them in front of a locked classroom, looking around as the other students passed.

    “What do you want to do for this test?” Rya’c eventually asked, trying to figure out how they were going to approach it. Or rather how they were going to ensure they were placed in the same classes.

    “We need to get the same score without looking like we cheated, they’d get suspicious then.”

    “Telepathy?” Rya’c suggested despite the head it he knew it would give them both.

    “Is there any other way?”

    “No, not really,”

    “I’ll test out math and science, they’ll still have to place me though. I’ll guide you so you get a decent score so we should be in the same classes. Then I know very little on geography and history.”

    “I remember a little more, but not enough, should we just skip that section?”

    “I guess, I mean while it will give us a headache we definitely have the advantage of being able to communicate non-verbally. And you have a decent understanding of my more obscure sounds which most people disregard.”

    “True, but they will get suspicious if it looks like we are carrying a conversation without speaking.” Rya’c pointed out knowing how Nina tended to emote even when speaking using telepathy, it can look rather odd to an observer. And while Nina could convey quite a bit with what sound like random noises, they do still draw attention, especially her growls or snarls.

    “You have a point, we’ll have to be careful not to give too much away. Sticking with telepathy might be our best option. I’ll do my best to control my reactions, still this will take quite a bit of focus to pull off.”

    “It will be fine,” Rya’c reassured her, but she wasn’t so sure. Telepathy was a delicate art, and Rya’c’s mind was very rigid, making prolonged mental communication exhausting and painful for both of them. They generally only used it there was no other option, a last resort.

    “Are you two, Nina and Rya’c?” A man dressed in a yellow-orange suit jacket asked, they both nodded, assuming this to be the Mr. Vega.

    “Right, I have the placement tests for you both. Take seats on opposite sides of the classroom and do not open the tests.” He handed them each of the thick booklet and unlocked the classroom. They easily separated and moved to follow his instructions.

    “Right, read the instructions, fill out the front of the packet and when you’re done, put your pencils down.” Mr. Vega further instructed moving to his desk, Rya’c and Nina shared a look.

    “We don’t have pencils.” Nina told him bluntly.

    “Why don’t you have pencils?”

    “This wasn’t planned, we don’t have school supplies.”Rya’c added and the teacher sighed and pulled two pencils out and threw one to each of them. Both of them caught them easily.

    “Now fill out the form, then we’ll move on once both of you are done.” He set a timer on his phone and placed it on his desk.

_"Rya’c what do we put for last names?”_ Nina called out to him mentally.

_"I was going to put Chulack.”_ Rya’c told her, and in a way it was his last name, even though it was just the planet he was born on.

_“I suppose I’ll put Pegasus then.”_ Nina concluded, as she had no planet of origin, only a galaxy.

_“Nina Pegasus? What did you use before?”_ Rya’c asked, wondering what she had used before.

_“Smith.”_

_"I see.”_ Rya’c had to stifle a laugh at that one.

 

    The next few hours consisted of them working through the test with questionable word problems. Nina personally didn’t understand why someone needed to buy three carts of pineapples, or why throwing a party involved so much math but she solved them quickly. It would have been faster had she not forced herself to slow down. Guiding Rya’c through the test hadn't been easy, but it wasn’t too trying either. What took the most time was that the tests were different from each other and she had to have Rya’c relay everything to her before giving him the proper answer. Regardless, it was all over now.

    “You two are free to go for now, we’ll have the results and your subsequent placement in a few days. Tomorrow and for the rest of the time until you two are placed you will shadow Lucien. I’ll see you two in class tomorrow.” Mr. Vega explained dismissing them. Nina and Rya’c nodded and quickly located an exit.

    “What do we do now?” Rya’c wondered out loud once they were outside.

     “I need to invest some of our money, and set up various forms of income. I suppose we need some things forged first before we can open a bank account. Before we handle that though I need food, I think I saw a grocery store on the way to the mall.” Nina responded, rubbing her temples to try and get rid of her headache.

     “Shall we then.” Rya’c agreed, dealing with a similar pain himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty happy with how this turned out overall it's a bit shorter than I would have liked, but adding more would have just been too much. 
> 
> And quickly on a Stargate note, Jaffa typical introduce themselves with their name and then their planet of origin so Rya'c is technically Rya'c of Chulak. Nina has no planet of origin since she has no clue where she was born. Instead, she uses the galaxy she's from which is known, as the Pegasus galaxy
> 
> Also, don't cheat on tests kids.


	6. Meeting the Nieghbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josephs hosts a barbecue, Damien introduces everyone to his unusual wards, Nina and Rya'c. Similar to Dadsona making the rounds at the barbecue just different conversations.

     It had been a few days since he took in Rya’c and Nina; Damien was pleasantly surprised at how well the two seem to have adjusted. Lucien even started to warm up to them, in his own way which consisted mainly of sarcastic commentary while the other two sparred. They didn’t seem to mind, in fact they tended to laugh at it, and occasionally they’d reply. However, he preferred not to watch them spar. They often walked away with scratches, bruises and he was fairly certain they had fractured their knuckles a few times. It made him uneasy to watch them hurt each other despite how carefree the two of them seemed while fighting.

    Their school life seemed to be uneventful or at least he hadn’t received any calls about them. They never talked much about it, but Nina did tend to make this deep, almost growling sound, whenever he asked. He didn’t know how she made the noises she did or even how Rya’c always seemed to know what she meant by them.

     Actually, he knew very little about them in general, Damien realized. He was confident that, that would come with time. The pair were far more social than he expected and he hoped they would come to the barbecue that Joesph was throwing.

 

     “Nina, Rya’c?” Damien called knocking lightly on the door to the room they shared. He heard Nina grumbling from the other side and he could smell… Candles?

     “Yes?” Nina answered the door, holding a notebook full of what looked similar to binary or code, only Damien didn’t recognize it, as if it was in another language, completely.

     “Ah well, one of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac is hosting a barbecue. I was wondering if you two would like to accompany Lucien and I to the event.” Damien explained, Nina looked into the room making one of her noises. There was some shifting and Rya’c appeared at the door.

     “I don’t think we have anything planned other than sparring later.” Rya’c commented.

     “I have a call I need to make later today.” Nina added writing a few more symbols in her notebook.

     “Then I suppose we will, for a short while anyway.” Rya’c chuckled, watching Nina fall back into her own world.

     “Excellent, Lucien and I are leaving in around twenty minutes.” Damien smiled at them, Nina made another noise disappearing into the room.

     “We will be there.” Rya’c assured Damien, laughing a bit at Nina before heading back into the room.

     “Socializing with humans isn’t going to kill you.” Rya’c told her extinguishing and picking up the various candles he had on the floor.

     “No, but I have priorities. I know you haven’t healed fully from this morning and to do that you need to go back to your meditating ritual - Kelno’reem. And I don’t need to remind you that our future depends on me getting this funding. We are busy though it might not look like it.” Nina responded absently still writing notes down. She was exaggerating a bit, while funding was nessacary for her to create another mirror or other portal type device, this call was not crucial to that plan. After all, funding was easy to come by when you had an advanced understanding of spacecrafts, and could in theory build ships that were only seen in science fiction. Still she preferred to get funding from someone easy enough to manipulate.

     “The damage is minimal at worse, a few bruises nothing more. I have been in Kelno’reem for multiple hours, I am well rested.” Rya’c replied, “I should be asking you, since you actually need sleep, it has been a few days.”

     “Kelno’reem is sleep, or close enough.” Nina rolled her eyes, putting her notebook down to give her friend a scathing look, “I require much less ‘sleep’ than you or anyone else in this house. I have another few days before I should probably sleep and even then I can push it much farther.”

    “This isn’t a matter of what you are capable of. It is a matter of your health.”

    “Rya’c I did not sleep for a month when I first came to live with you and Bra’tac. I didn’t trust either of you enough to relax that much. It will take time for me to adjust.” Nina shrugged, that was just how it was. Checking the time briefly, Nina decided she should probably change. While Damien and Lucien were now used to her walking around in sports bras, the rest of the neighborhood was not and blending in was still a priority despite the hassle it caused her.

    “Should you ever need me to stand guard, I would do so willingly.” Rya’c offered pulling on a jacket over his t-shirt.

    “I know, but I would never ask that of you.” Nina declared linking her arm through his.

    “I know.” He nodded and led them down the stairs to meet Damien and Lucien. They could already hear people outside, probably setting up or getting the barbecue in full swing.

    “Ah! Both of you are here, come along now.” Damien encouraged them, Lucien b-lined for a boy in an orange hoodie leaving Nina and Rya’c to trail after Damien who was approaching the main area where the adults were talking amongst themselves.

    “Dames!” Mary called out before hugging Damien, while balancing a wine glass in one hand.

    “Mary,” He returned the greeting and the hug.

    “Damien, good to see you and your guests.” A man with a pink shirt and light blue sweater around his neck appeared. Nina and Rya’c both wondered about the practicality of that, and how he managed not to choke himself on a regular basis. To them it just looked… dangerous. In her confusion, Nina almost missed the look that came across Mary’s face.Nina’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she watched Mary’s posture change, it was slight and Nina didn’t know what it meant entirely but this man had something to do with it.

    “Yes, of course allow me to present, Nina and Rya’c they are staying with Lucien and I.” Damien introduced, “Nina, Rya’c this is Joseph.”

    Rya’c politely nodded, but Nina refused to do anything to engage this man until she knew more about him. And why Mary seemed to dislike him.

    “Well, it’s wonderful to meet you both. I know you have already met my wife Mary but we have four kids. Kids!” Joseph yelled, barely giving the two time to adjust to this information or the sight of near identical children, “This is Chris, the eldest, then there are the twins, Christian and Christie. And the baby Chrish, she’s sleeping right now.”

    “You named all of your children the same thing?” Rya’c asked, raising an eyebrow, Nina echoed his confusion and tilted her head both at the names and the revelation that Mary was his wife.

    “What? No, they all have different names.” Joseph’s looked at them startled, as if he had never considered the possibility that all the names were the same.

    “No, they are all derived from Christian. Its the same name, just different variants.” Nina pointed out, still very lost.

    “I suppose so, but they are different names.” Joseph insisted, Nina and Rya’c frowned but let it go. For Damien’s part he chuckled uncomfortably and excused them from the conversation, ushering them towards a man with a baby strapped to his chest….

     “Hey bro! How have you been?” The man greeted Damien, Nina raised her eyebrow and shared a look with Rya’c.

     “I am well, and I would like to introduce you to Nina and Rya’c they are staying with Lucien and I.” Damien repeated the same line from earlier.

     “Cool bros, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Craig, this here is River and I have twins Briar and Hazel they’re over by the food table if you want to go and say hi to them too.”

     “It is good to meet you as well.” Rya’c voiced for the both of them, Nina hummed wondering why this man look familiar.

     “Do you perhaps run in the morning?” Nina questioned finally placing his face.

     “Huh? Yeah little bro, I totally do got to get my daily run in, you know.” They way he spoke was unfamiliar to Nina, and his casual use of the diminutive word for brother was unsettling to her, but she smiled at him.

     “Yes, I do know. I rather enjoy running for hours on end.” Nina didn’t look directly at Craig, her gaze was focused on the sky. It was a different sky than the one she was used too but it was comforting nonetheless.

     “It’s good to exercise but don’t overtax yourself little bro. It’s good to know your limits.” Craig laughed, offering a bit of advice that Nina didn’t need.

     “Limits.” Nina laughed a bit, but nodded anyway doing her best to conceal a smirk, Rya’c gently elbowed her.

    “Well, good talking to you little bros but it looks like Brair and Hazel are trying to be each other again, so I’ll see you around.” He waved pleasantly running over the snack table to sort the twin confusion out, as well as help the other children the two seemed to be in the midsts of confounding.

     “Am I the only one thinking that he shouldn’t be running with a child strapped to his chest?” Rya’c asked looking worriedly at River.

     “I don’t really know. There were no infants where I grew up.” Nina responded with a small shrug, watching Craig carefully, analyzing how the baby harness worked. She'd have to take a closer look at it to make any firm decision, as well as do some research on human babies.

     “I believe that his harness supports River’s head while in motion. Craig would never endanger her life.” Damien reassured them, gently directing them to where they would meet yet another neighbor.

     “Damien,” Mr. Vega greeted, both Rya’c and Nina slightly raised their eyebrows. They hadn’t expected to see him outside of a scholastic setting. Though it seemed his greeting was mainly to be polite as he passed them on his way to the snack table.

     “Hugo, you already know Nina and Rya’c.” Damien commented, before turning to another man that Hugo had been talking animatedly to previously

     “But I don’t think we’ve been introduced, I’m Mat. I run the Coffee Spoon. It’s nice to meet you both.” Mat approached them, leaving his daughter, presumably, to talk with some of the older kids that lived in the neighborhood.

     “Coffee spoon?” Nina tilted her head, “Is there a specific coffee spoon or is it just a spoon used for coffee? Why does coffee need a spoon? It's not a soup.”

     “Um, neither really. I just named it after this poem -“ He talked for sometime seeming to ramble on, until Nina stopped him after figuring out he needed someone to stop him.

     “It’s alright. I was just wondering what a coffee spoon was, I see now that it isn’t important.”

     “Anyway, stop by sometime, we have coffee, tea, some baked goods, and I host an open mic night every now and again.” He seemed more relaxed now, Nina an Rya’c both mentally let out a sigh of relief. Neither was sure how they would have of faired had it continually happened.

     “Open mic night?” Rya’c prompted further dodging a well aimed elbow from Nina. She grumbled a bit but was unable to do anything further to stop Rya’c without causing a scene.

    “Ah yeah, if you stop by, I can give you a flyer, but comedy, music, poetry, you know just whatever you feel like or are interested in.”

    “I see, that sounds intriguing.”

    “Are you two interested in music?” Damien questioned eager to learn more about the two of them.

    “Me not so much. Nina though, that’s another story.” He ignored the deep rumbling growls coming from her. While she’d probably prefer that he didn’t share this, it wasn’t something she’d earnestly get too upset with him for. In the end no harm was done, aside from the bruises he’d probably be sporting after their sparring session tonight.

    “Oh really, do you have a favorite band?” Mat inquired.

    “No, music was more of a way to get rid of my accent. I learned to sing and in doing that I learned to speak like this.” Nina frowned, cursing Rya’c in her head, she hated going into this. Or rather putting simple things into words, it was never easy for her.She could explain what an Einstein-Rosenburg bridge is and how it works, but why she liked music or what music she liked? She could never find the right words.

    “Huh? I would have never guessed you used to have an accent. It seems to have worked.” He laughed and Rya’c joined in, mainly because he knew what she sounded like before hand. It was night and day.

    There was a deep rumbling noise that made Mat pause. For a second Damien and Mat were stunned, wondering where the noise was coming from. It took their minds a little longer to catch up and decipher the words buried underneath it all.

    “Of course you wouldn’t have. And if you were curious this is what I really sound like. While using my - for lack of a better word - ‘other’ voice is tiring most people have extremely negative reactions to this voice.” Nina smirked proudly displaying some of her sharper teeth, upon seeing the mixed of emotions cross Damien and Mat’s faces. Rya’c completely lost it, doubling over in a fit of laughter.

     “That’s…. That’s your regular voice?” Damien was still stunned, he knew she growled and made… other noises but her ‘normal’? No... Natural voice was terrifying. It sounded something that would come from a monster in a film, rather than a young woman. The hairs on his neck were still standing up and showed no sign of relaxing.

     “Yes. That was.” Nina nodded forcing herself to use her fake accent once more.

     “It was certainly surprising.” Mat added in a similar state as Damien.

     “To you maybe. To others?” Nina commented, looking down where Rya’c was struggling to catch his breath.

     “Is he going to be okay.”

     “He’s surprising resilient, a little oxygen deprivation isn’t going to kill him.” She rolled her eyes chuckling a bit, “For some reason he finds other peoples reactions to my voice hysterical. I met him before I learned how to talk like this, so for him that’s all he knew for years.”

     “Seriously though, you learned to sing and were able to imitate accents from that? That’s impressive, I had no idea know you could learn accents through music, what an interesting way to get into music.” Mat laughed but Nina just shook her head. It was far more complicated than that and her vocal range was vastly different from a humans. Her true voice was an indicator of that, seeing as to the untrained ear, she sounded ‘like a man’ whatever that seemed to imply or mean to a human, considering to her it meant something else and far more insulting though not in the way humans seemed to think. That aside, her interest in music didn’t start out as a way to change her voice. No, it had a much humbler beginning.

     “That's not quite right. I suppose it all starts with a linguist, Daniel. I was helping him translate some ancient texts when I started to hum with the background music he had on. It was pleasant, but I didn’t think much of it until two weeks later when we had finished our work and he gave me an mp3 player as payment. I still have it actually, but that is how I became interested in the vocal capabilities of hu- people, so I began singing to mimic their voices. Two years later and I could mimic any accent I wanted.” Nina explained, and despite herself, she could feel the smile on her face.

     “It was startling at first, she’d change accents on a whim or to play mind games with people.” Rya’c added, dusting himself off, successfully recovered from his earlier fit.

     “They deserved it, if they hadn’t made baseless assumptions I wouldn’t have targeted them.” Nina grumbled a bit, but it was in good humor.

     “I never said it wasn’t warranted.”

     “Well anyway, if you're interested in open mic night, just stop by anytime we’re open for a flyer.” Mat added drawing their attention back to him.

     “We definitely will.” Rya’c nodded at him, the two waited for Damien to finish with the pleasantries, before they were heading towards… Well a man with an exceptionally loud shirt, and another man with a somber look and what looked like a glass of whiskey in his hand. The contrast was a bit startling.

     “Damien! It’s good to see you! So theses are the two kids you took in.” The man with the loud shirt exclaimed in a booming voice.

     “Ah, yes, they are. These are Nina and Rya’c.”

     “Good to meet you both! I’m Brian, I’ve got a daughter a bit younger than you two. Her name is Daisy and she’s over there reading book on advanced mathematics. She’s so smart.” He gushed, both Nina and Rya’c unconsciously took a step back.

     “That’s… nice?” Rya’c replied, aiming to be polite though he had no idea how to respond.

     “Actually, Nina here might be a good companion for Daisy since she’s well versed in… ah, what was it again?” Damien faltered when it came to her specific degrees.

    “PhDs in astrophysics and genetics. Plus various degrees in other fields such as astro-engineering, biochemistry and biomedical engineering.” She rattled off easily, but did take the time to look over at Daisy. She was reading what appeared to be a book on mathematical theory. If Daisy was understanding what she was reading, the girl could be a good candidate for someone bounce simplistic ideas off of or perhaps a basic lab assistant.

     “You have two doctorates?” The other man questioned.

     “Yes, technically I’m Dr. Nina Pegasus but no one calls me that.” Nina shrugged

     “Why not?” The man pressed further. Nina wasn’t irritated, but she wished this man would introduce himself since she had nothing to really refer to him other than ‘the other man,’ or ‘whiskey man’. It was beginning to grate on her.

     “Because it sounds stupid, and I find people have a different type of bias when they hear Dr. Pegasus versus Miss Pegasus or Nina.”

     “Wouldn’t Doctor demand more respect, though?” Brian asked, shifting his feet a bit, clearly uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation.

     “Hm… Not quite. Respect isn’t something to demand. You can demand respect all you want, but if the other person sees no reason to respect you they won’t. So I downplay my accomplishments and walk to the room commanding respect. It’s a subtle change, but it makes a world of difference.” Nina stated offhandedly, while changing her demeanor a bit. She removed her arm from Rya’c’s and stood up a little straighter. Nina made sure to keep herself in check, she was very well aware of how intimidating she could be. She was trying to prove a point, not confront an enemy in hostile territory.

    “Command and demand mean the same thing.”

    “Yes, but it’s all in the presentation. Childish demands mean nothing. While, expecting respect and accepting nothing less, gets me much further.”

    “Fair point, kid. I’m Robert by the way.” He tipped his drink to her and drained it.

     “Nina.” She nodded with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty happy with this chapter overall, still feel like it could use tweaking but it works for now. 
> 
> The big stargate reference in this chapter was Kelno'reem, it's a deep meditative ritual that Jaffa do to heal themselves and in the place of sleep since they don't need sleep.
> 
> Some notes on Nina that I just wanted to make perfectly clear. She used music as a vocal coach to sound like a normal human since she wasn't raised by humans and naturally has a much deeper and a gravelly voice. She hates explaining simple things because she's a telepath raised by telepaths, she prefers mental communication. And her distrust of Joseph is based solely on Mary's attitude and reaction towards him. Nina personally doesn't know what to think, her default is to approach with caution and be ready to attack.
> 
>  
> 
> Last note is that you may have picked up on that I don't call Brian's shirt a 'Hawaiian shirt'.
> 
> Brian's shirt is a very tourist typical Hawaiian shirt, and I've never felt comfortable calling those types of shirts, Hawaiian shirts. My grandma is Hawaiian and though she moved states when she got married, I grew up with my Dad wearing Hawaiian shirts that she'd have family send. They have much less color and eye pain inducing patterns, so the bright ones just make me cringe. It's weird, I know, but I just can't lump Brian's shirt in with them. If you want, you can google "Hawaiian shirt" and "local Hawaiian shirt" if you want to see the difference. You might have to scroll a bit, but you'll see what I'm talking about.


	7. A Little Too Much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina is a little drunk, and has a late night conversation with Damien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long to write because I had to be a little drunk myself to get Nina's responses quite right. So keep in mind around half of this chapter was written while I was intoxicated. The conversation becomes a bit circular at one point but she's drunk and Damien is concerned so I felt that was how the coversation would flow. I've edited it multiple times so there shouldn't be too many problems, but I could have missed something.

 

     Nina exited a cab, her long flowing dress making her look foreboding and out of place. Heels in her hand with raw feet, she walked to the front door. She pulled two pins free from her hair, causing it to cascade down her back. She fiddled with the lock, attempting to trigger the tumblers.

     She let her forehead fall against the door, and cool her alcohol flushed skin. Her fingers were too clumsy from the champagne, for her to open the door without a key. Sighing, she headed towards the backyard unsure of where she’d stay tonight. Everything looked so much better in the moonlight to her, even the unfamiliar sky. She collapsed on the bench as gracefully as she could, staring up at stars she couldn’t recognize. Nina smiled bitterly as a few tears fell from her eyes. Wiping her eyes, she cursed herself for drinking as much as she did. It was a miracle her investors didn’t notice that she’d practically drank her weight… Or at least, what her weight would be if her bones weren’t as dense as they are.

    Nina lost track of time, letting her mind wander to whatever it would. Intoxication was truly the only way for her to feel at peace in this silence and under this foreign sky. Nina rumbled and spoke in a tongue few understood, to her absent family. There was no response; but it helped her feel less lonely regardless.

 

    A loud crack echoed in the silence. Her response was instantaneous.

    “Who goes there!” She yelled dropping into a crouch, ready to strike at the slightest provocation. In hindsight, she probably looked a bit strange, wearing a formal dress, with no shoes and her hair halfway falling out of a braided crown.

     “Ah! It’s just me.” Damien sheepishly called, from the back door, stepping outside to greet her properly. Nina just sank back down to lay on the bench.

     “Rya’c told me, you had an event to attend, I thought I’d stay up to make sure you got back inside safely since I forgot to get keys cut for you two last weekend.”

     “You didn’t need to. I would have picked the lock if I wasn’t as drunk as I am.” Nina retorted going back to watching the sky.

     “Drunk? Oh dear, how much have you had? Do you need a hospital?” He panicked trying to examine her without touching her; she wasn’t comfortable when it came to anyone other than Rya’c touching her.

     “Relax, it’s hardly the first time I’ve been drunk. It won’t kill me.” She laughed bitterly, “Imagine that! Survive all of this only to drink myself to death. That would truly be tragic!”

     “Are you feeling well?” Damien carefully asked, concerned with the tone, the conversation had suddenly taken.

     “You worry too much.” Nina replied, brushing off his concern. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand it, surprisingly she did. It was just misguided in this case.

     “You just laughed about drinking yourself to death. I think that’s something to worry about even if you don’t.”

     “I laughed about the idea of dying in such a ….” she motioned with her hand, “an ironic way.”

     “How is dying ironic at all. I understand in novels at times, death can be ironic or used as a plot device but in life? I don’t feel ironic is the right word.”

     “Damien, I have scars from all manner of things. Some, you wouldn’t believe. I find it funny to have survived what I’ve been told I shouldn’t have only to die here from excessive drinking of all things. It would be ironic.”

     “I suppose…” He trailed off.

     “For someone who can wax poetic about death you seem awfully concerned about a dark joke.” Sitting up, she looked at his face trying to understand what it was that bothering him.

     “I am just concerned with how you are talking.” Damien made an almost inaudible sound that caught Nina’s attention. Carefully, she shifted her focus to his mind, just listening to the handful of thoughts in the forefront of his mind.

     “Ah,” She nodded in understanding, “You’re concerned, I’m suicidal, with my flippant comment about dying. But that’s not everything is it? Normally, I let Rya’c handle these things, since he’s much better with people and explaining things in simple terms. There are usually more questions than answers whenever I try to explain and I tend to reveal more than I intend to; however, I’m just drunk enough not to care. So ask your questions, I’ll answer them.”

     “Are you sure? Won’t you regret answering my queries in the morning? I do not want this to cause you any stress or become a source of frustration for you.”

     “Damien, there is a big difference between being drunk and whatever I am at the moment. My judgement isn’t the best right now sure, but I’m a far cry from not knowing what I am doing so don’t insult my intelligence.” She leveled him with a look, and once he conceded she offered half of the bench to him, sliding herself to lean against a gargoyle.

    “If you are sure.” He sat down on the now available space, “I suppose I will start with the most pressing question, are you alright?”

     “Truthfully? I miss my family and it weighs heavily on me. Generally speaking, though, I am well. I have bouts of depression, but I hardly think that is anything alarming or shocking. All things considered.” Nina responded truthfully, after some thought.

     "All things considered?”

     “I’ve been through quite a bit and at times it gets the best of me. It is harder without them, but I have Rya’c and for now that will have to be enough.” Nina elaborated looking back at the stars longingly.

     “Yes, the two of you are rather close.” Damien chuckled softly to himself.

     “Not like that.” Nina rebuked, sending a cold look his way.

     “Oh. I did not mean to imply anything I just noticed you two practically orbit each other.” Nina laughed, it was loud and terrifying. Damien felt himself stiffen, he supposed this was her laughing without straining her voice to sound ‘normal’. That didn’t make it any less startling.

     “Orbit. That is a new one.” She was panting slightly between words, recovering from the laughter, “I cling; that’s how everyone describes it. It has caused us some trouble in the past. Mostly because we aren’t in a relationship. Some people tried, emphasis on tried, to provoke a reaction from Rya’c over the fact that he explicitly stated he isn’t attracted to me. They did little more than cause confusion for the both of us. I still don’t quite understand how they thought some of those things were insults, but they quickly learned empty words mean nothing to us. And any physical action will be met with equal force.”

     “I see, I am sorry that happened.”

     “Don’t be, it was nothing. They were fools, and when they tried to make it physical they deeply regretted their actions.” Nina smirked flashing her sharper teeth, it made her like an animal baring her teeth, and left Damien with an unsettling pit in his stomach.

     “Still… I have an idea of what they probably said…”

     “Damien, it was nothing. Those insults, they don’t mean anything to Rya’c or I.We weren’t raised like you or anyone you know and an insult truly loses meaning when the person, it’s directed at doesn’t know what your talking about.” Nina tried to reassure him, but it didn’t seem to have an impact, so she changed directions, “If I called you a shol’va would that mean anything to you? Would you be offended or hurt?”

     “Well, no, I don’t know what that means. I suppose it’s an insult, but about what I don’t know.” Damien answered truthfully.

     “And that’s how those insults felt to us. They held no meaning or weight, and idle threats mean little to us.” Nina elaborated, silence fell over them for a moment, “It means traitor or heretic in case you were wondering. It’s one of the worst insults where Rya’c is from.”

     “That is an unusual insult, is he religious?” Neither had ever mentioned a religious background, or gave any indication of being religious before this. Damien didn’t know the details of every different system of beliefs, though, so it was possible for him to have overlooked something.

     “No… Not quite. They just have a lot of pride and are fiercely loyal bunch. So to accuse someone of breaking that bond, is no small matter.”

     “And what about where you’re from?”

     “That’s more complicated. I’m from a very different environment than Rya’c or anyone really… Our insults are tricky to explain and they don’t really translate well. The easiest one to translate would be…” Nina made a few vague hand motions as she worked through various translations of an insult, trying to find one that didn’t directly mention the fact that she wasn’t human, “No… the insults don’t really translate at all. Mainly they are just insults directed at the person, like calling someone weak, useless, pathetic. You get the general idea.”

     “Yes.” Damien fell silent for a moment, “May I ask you something?”

     “Isn’t that what this whole conversation has been?” Nina raised an eyebrow and chuckled, still completely at ease with the conversation that was taking place.

     “Well, when you phrase it like that… What is it you do?”

     “You’re wondering, what job that I could have that explains this.” Nina gestured to herself.

     “Yes.”

     “Well, I’m afraid the answer is rather underwhelming. I’m a scientist and I sell my more,” Nina once again made a motion with her hand while searching for a word, “marketable ideas to companies, in return they fund my private endeavors. Part of our deal is they get to show me off at parties, for good press and whatever else it accomplishes besides making me drink out of boredom.”

     “This is a common occurrence?”

     “The drinking? No, not really, only when I’m forced to listen to hours upon hours of pointless drivel.”

     “I was asking about these events, but I suppose that answered my question all the same.”

     “Indeed.” Nina erupted in a fit of giggles, “Indeed! Rya’c’s father says that a lot, I see why now, it’s rather fun.”

     “How much have you had to drink again?”

     “Ah, I lost count around 16? I think I downed an entire tray at one point. I don’t know how they didn’t notice, I wasn’t being subtle, then again, they are rather self-absorbed.”

     “Are they really that taxing to go to.”

     “Damien, have you ever been to a Gala?”

     “No, I can’t say I have.”

     “Let me save you the trouble. They are dreadfully boring and you spend most of the time nodding along to some asinine story that makes the room laugh politely but retain nothing from it. And if you’re me get shown off like a shiny new toy.”

     “Oh my, that does sound dreadful.”

     “It is. But it is part of my job.”

     “Perhaps I’m still a bit unclear on what your job actually entails?”

     “I run a lab and develop the latest scientific discoveries.”

     "That sounds purposefully vague.” Damien pressed a bit further.

    “It was. Trust me on this Damien. There are things about us you are better off not knowing.” Nina remarked, stretching her spine, oddly reminiscent of a large cat.

     "You’re both okay though, right?”

     “Damien, we don’t spar for fun. Well, I mean we do, it’s entertaining, sure, but we do it for a purpose. Rya’c and I are capable of handling ourselves.”

     “That doesn’t mean you’re okay.”

    “No, I suppose it doesn’t.” Nina chuckled, “In all honestly, we’re rarely okay but that’s not a terrible thing. It is what it is and we handle it and keep moving.” Nina explained, smiling a bit sadly at the floor. Perhaps it wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with things, but no one ever accused them of being pillars of mental health. Besides, things in this dimension were different. Explaining what their lives were like in detail would terrify anyone, it wasn’t as if she could tell Damien that she was fully capable of dismembering and disposing of a body. Or that she had helped to wipe out entire planets as little more than a child. Not to mention Rya’c and her fought a war, an actual bloody mess of a war.

     This world saw them as teenagers. And teenagers aren’t supposed to be soldiers let alone war harden ones. So they’d manage on their own and for this world’s sake they’d remain just teenagers.

     “If you are certain.” Damien replied, concern still tainting his voice.

     “I am.” Nina declared before a yawn was forced out of her.

     “Perhaps we should call it night, you’re clearly tired and it is rather late.”

     “I think that is an excellent idea.” Nina chuckled and pulled herself to her feet. She was far from sober, but certainly beginning to sober up.

     “Can you walk?” Damien asked, an arm hovering near her in case she needed support.

     “Again, I’m not that drunk. I’ll be fine and yes I can manage the stairs. Good Night Damien.” Nina called and Damien could realize that she was practically in the house already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Overall, I'm fairly pleased with this chapter. Tried a bit of a different writing style for drunk Nina and I'm liking it. The next chapter should be back to the normal style as everyone is sober. 
> 
> There weren't Stargate related things in this chapter than I haven't mentioned before, but incase anyone needs a reminder. Nina and Rya'c are soldiers. Both are from societies where that's common. So they have their own ways of coping with things that aren't always healthy.
> 
> I hope I'm explaining all of this well. It's almost midnight and I'm sick so I really wanted to finish editing this and post it.


	8. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina and Rya'c don't know why everyone's making such a fuss, but Nina's patience is running thin.

 

     They sat in the principles office waiting for Damien and Mr. Vega to arrive - mostly Damien as Mr. Vega was already at the school.

     The atmosphere was far from comfortable but none of them were particularly phased, Lucien and Ernest were clearly used to this. And while Nina and Rya’c weren’t used to this particular situation, they were familiar with far more dire ones, this hardly bothered them. If anything it was amusing to see the principle trying to intimidate them, the worst he could do is expel them. It would be little more than a hassle for them in the long run and easily solved with a phone call to a lawyer Nina had on speed dial.

     The grim-faced principal shook his head at the four of them, flipping through multiple files, that had their names on them, an intimidation tactic. Nina and Rya’c fought back laughter, disguising it with a few dry coughs, they received a glare despite their efforts. The principle, had no clue what he was doing, using stolen tricks he barely understood, to try and crack them.

     “You four are in some serious trouble, I hope you understand that.” The principal told them as he crossed his arms and quite literally puffed up, trying to appear larger.

     “Yeah, we get it.” Lucien shot back, effectively shocking the principle. Nina smirked as she watched him. This man was no interrogator, he was used to scared kids that were already shaking by the time they got to his office that much was clear.

     “You! Young man were trying to start an illegal gambling ring. That has serious charges. I should be calling the police.” The principle practically threatened, even if it wasn’t entirely accurate.

     “Technically people started placing bets on their own, Lucien has no control over other people’s actions.” Nina argued with a slight smile. They didn’t break any laws, and both of them knew it if they had they wouldn’t be sitting here just talking about the police.

     “Don’t get me started on you two! Fighting on school grounds!” The principle deflected bright red with anger. Nina just raised an eyebrow, her entire demeanor asking ‘your point?’ clearly bored with the whole situation.

     “Sparring.” Rya’c corrected.

     “It doesn’t matter what you call it!”

     “Actually, it does,” Nina replied working in tandem with Rya’c, “Sparring means actual injury is unlikely while fighting… If we were fighting in earnest, we’d be more than just a little bruised.” She smirked sending shivers down the principal's spine.

     “Internal bleeding, gashes, broken bones here and there.” Rya’c added, in agreement with Nina. He knew better than anyone else in this room what both Nina and himself were capable of when they were serious.

     “What?” The principle paled considerably, looking between all four of them. Lucien and Ernest were both snickering and silently cheering the two on. While Nina and Rya’c waited for the principle to recover, ready to strike at any sign of weakness. They wouldn’t be bullied into thinking that they did something wrong, just because some people didn’t approve of their choices or how they lived their lives.

 

     A knock came from the door.

 

     “Mr. Bloodmarch and Mr. Vega are here sir.” His assistant called from the other side.

     “Yes, yes, let them in.” The principle composed himself and took a calming breath as Damien and Mr. Vega flooded into the room and stood behind them.

     “Ah, what happened exactly, they were rather vague on the phone.” Damien asked breaking the tense silence.

     “Why don’t I let them explain it, as they seem to think they did nothing wrong.” The principal challenged glaring at Lucien and Ernest, giving up on Nina and Rya’c. Which in any other situation would have probably been a good call, but he’d already dug himself a grave, they were pissed.

     “We didn’t.” Nina responded shifting attention away from the two boys with a sharp glare towards the principal, and a small flash of a crooked grin.

 

-

 

**Four Hours Earlier**

 

     Nina rarely went to school, the teachers knew better than to force her and just marked her as present to avoid dealing with her. Somehow she always managed to appear whenever there was a test, no matter what type of test it was, she was present for them all almost like magic. Lucien really had no clue how she managed it or how she wasn’t constantly in trouble.

     Today, however, she had multiple tests to take and was attending an entire days’ worth of classes. They would always run to school, instead of taking the bus which Lucien found strange in an of itself. Still, he was waiting for them when they rounded the corner to school. He wasn’t necessarily in their way but it was enough that they felt the need to skid to a stop. It was a bit dramatic on their part, really.

     “Lucien? What are you doing here?”

     “We go to the same school.” He replied sarcastically.

      “You know that’s not what he meant.” Nina replied.

      “Can I livestream you to two sparring at lunch?”

      The two shared a look - the ones where it was like they had whole conversations without saying a word - before nodding in-sync.

      “I don’t see why not. Is that all?” She asked linking her arm through Rya’c’s casually.

      “I was thinking either the gym or the field.”

      “The gym will be locked but that’s hardly a problem.”

      “A field is more like where we used to train.” Rya’c point out but Nina just shook her head.

     “The gym will work just fine.” Nina smirked, clearly planning something. It seemed even Rya’c didn’t know what it was exactly, with the look he was giving her.

     “They have mats in there if you need them for ‘safety’ or whatever.” Lucien pointed out, half-heartedly. Safety never really seemed like their priority, considering they shrugged off some brutal looking injuries.

     “We don’t.” They responded in unison, chuckling to some inside joke that he didn’t understand. Lucien found it irritating when they did that but learned to let it slide; their jokes tended to only make sense to them. He still didn’t understand why they found horror movies to be utterly hysterical despite them spending an entire movie with them trying to explain it him; limbs didn’t work like that, or there was too little or too much blood or that certain characters should alive and others should be dead. Not to mention they seemed to find the premise of most horror movies pointless if not completely ridiculous. They were strange on a good day…

     “Right, I’ll meet you both at the side entrance to the gym right as lunch starts.” Lucien told them turning to leave with a smirk. He had to get Ernest in on this.

 

-

 

     Nina and Rya’c were already waiting for them when they showed up.

     “How are we getting in again?” Ernest asked, before Lucien could even think of an answer Rya’c just pushed the door open.

     “We already handled that.” Nina told them leading the way in. Everything echoed in the gym even with the mats on the walls dampening the effect. It was a bit eerie too say the least.

     “Let me get my phone out and start the stream while you two get ready.” Lucien told them as he worked on setting up a stream using the school's horrible wifi.

     “We’re ready when you are.” Nina called, her and Rya’c standing a decent length apart.

     “Yeah, were good on this end.” Lucien called leaning against the bleachers and getting them both into frame.

     “So basic spar rules or do you want to put on a show?” Nina asked as they circled each other. Lucien shrugged even though he got the feeling she wasn’t talking to him.

     “I’m thinking something a little more.” Rya’c suggested casually.

     “Alright then.” Nina laughed and the two began exchanging blows. It was just as chaotic as it always was but the two of them utilize the space to it’s fullest. This wasn’t the backyard, here they had space. And they were using every inch of it to try and gain the upper hand. Watching them spar like this was, entirely different.

     “They do this every day?” Ernest questioned with wide eyes, he’d never seen a style quite like this. It was so different to the fights he watched on TV or the handful he’d witnessed him and the rare occasion where he actually got into a fight himself.

     “Yeah. Twice a day, sometimes more.” Lucien was equally floored.

     “Damn.”

     They were exaggerating their actions, purposefully clashing when they could have just dodged, didn’t mean they pulled their punches though. Still, if they wanted to keep this entertaining they’d need to take it up a notch.

     Out of the corner of her eye, Nina caught something, smirking as they clashed once more. She twisted away from Rya’c and did a very unnecessary backflip to, a janitor’s cart. Quickly, she snapped the head of a mop off and tossed it to Rya’c, taking the broom for herself. Catching her drifted they gripped their new weapons and clashed again.

     Lucien and Ernest shared a look, a mix of terrified and awed.

     Makeshift staffs, connected echoing the gym as they danced around each other, using their staffs as extensions of themselves. It looked far more brutal than it really was. They spent years training just like this, it was an old routine, made new with Nina’s distinctive fighting style - a combination of so many others.

     Scratches sprouted on their skin but it was nothing that gave them pause even if one or two them were a bit deeper causing blood to drip on the floor. The jagged end of their staffs was new, but they were adapting, trying to anyway, fighting muscle memory wasn’t easy.

     Nina and Rya’c were practically twirling around each other, staffs connecting with ever turn almost in time with each other. Smiles on their faces despite the violence between them, in a way it was surreal.

     At least to everyone that wasn’t them. This was a proper fight, as far the spectators could tell, not a friendly scrap between friends. Still, they were smiling like none of it really mattered. Welts peppering their arms but they didn’t seem to care that they were racking up a laundry list of minor injuries. To them, it was new, frighting in a way that sent their hearts racing but evoked little to no fear. In a word it was exciting, and that energy took on a life of it’s own as the betting began.

     Most were putting their money on Rya’c, he’s a guy, after all, was the general reasoning. Some were just suckers for a pretty girl and backed Nina. And those that actually knew something about fighting, they backed her too. Chaos flooded through the halls, as they murmured and tried to keep this a secret, even if some teachers had their own betting placed. Everyone glued to the screen, as the fight continued.

     But someone had to ruin the fun, even if their intentions had been good. Unfortunately, intentions don’t mean a whole a lot.

 

-

 

     The principal, two teachers, and scared kid stormed the gym, swinging the doors wide open, startling Lucien and Ernest who both paled.

     "What do you think you four are doing!” A teacher squawked but Nina and Rya’c paid them no mind. They were going to see this through, livestream or no. Somewhere they recognized that this was their way of venting, a way of showing everyone that they weren’t just teenagers. That they could fight, and that their still smiles hid a dangerous side that was a force to be recognized with. Somewhere deeper they realized there was no way they could understand, that it was going to be misinterpreted and twisted.

     But that only surged them forward. Even as they dodged the P.E. and Chemistry teachers trying to stop them.

     There was one final clash and even without Nina’s telepathy, they knew they couldn’t keep this going. Their minds catching up with their bodies. A sadness of sort playing through both their minds. They moved like water, linking arms and throwing their weapons down.

    “What’s the problem?” Nina questioned her head tilted slightly to one side, on anyone else it might have looked childish or cute, but on her… On her it was patronizing, with her eyes burning like fire, daring them to say a damned thing.

 

-

 

**Present**

 

     “You see now why you were called here?” The principal asked smugly.

     “No? Not really.” Damien look between, Nina, Damien, and Lucien.

     “No?” The principle echoed.

     “Nina and Rya’c spar regularly, and while it makes me uncomfortable to watch them hurt each other. It is something they would have done regardless of whether or not they were on campus. The only difference is the broom and mop handles which are new, yes but I have heard them talk about using staffs in their sparring sessions before.” Damien defended, taking Rya’c and Nina by surprise.

     “Fine. If not violence then destruction of school property!”

     “A mop and a broom?” Damien pressed, “I can -“

     “I am sorry Damien but I have to stop you there.” Nina voiced gently, pulling out her wallet, she removed a few fifty dollar bills and placed them on the desk. “That should cover the damage and the cleaning bill. Anything else?”

     “You broke school rules.” The principal gritted his teeth.

      “Yeah we did, but don’t pretend to enforce the rules now. You want to punish us? You’re not going to be allowed to cherry pick, who you punish. You’ll have to haul everyone else in these halls who has ever thrown a punch, while you looked the other way. Before you get to us.” There was no room for negotiation. Nina’s voice made that clear.

 

      Checkmate.

 

     Nina smirked, pleased with the silence that fell as the principal clearly had nothing more to say. She glanced at Rya’c, and the others nodding once, and lead them out of the office.

 

-

 

     Nina's victory however was short-lived. The very next day, it was announced that all students should check the list outside the principals office and those that found their names there would be required to attend  _every_ school function and participate, meaning, that for dances a date was required, and for games they would have to be wearing team colors. There would be no exceptions made. Nina was now the one gritting her teeth, as realized this was the principals work around. A way to punish her and Rya'c without cherry picking who he punished. She was impressed, he thought that far ahead but that didn't make her any less angry as she called her lawyer, the terms would need to be renegotiated, she had a job to do after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how I feel about this chapter, but it is what it is. 
> 
> So this chapter was inspired, by a 'friendly' sparring match that takes place in Stargate Atlantis, between Teal'c (Rya'c's Father) and Ronon. If anyone wants to watch that scene just type "Ronon vs Teal'c" into YouTube and it should be the first result. The sparring match in this chapter just has significantly less aggression, but the two are comparable.
> 
> Anyway, I don't think this chapter had any Stargate references that I haven't explained yet, but I can explain Nina and Rya'c's different fighting styles in a bit more detail. Nina is more of a mixed martial artist, she is extremely agile and adapts styles to suit her needs. She can be overpowered if pinned down long enough so she tends to keep moving, her telepathy is her most powerful weapon when she's cornered but she never uses it when sparring. While Rya'c sticks mainly with Lok'el (a type of martial arts that the Jaffa use), he has begun to adapt to Nina's style and is working on developing a style closer to Nina's.


End file.
